Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet isn't well-known in the US.
In France, she’s a political personality who rises above name recognition. To the public, she’s instantly recognizable as NKM, Nicolas Sarkozy’s Environmental Minister and the spokesperson for his 2012 Presidential campaign. She ran against him in the 2017 primary and they both lost to François Fillon. She also ran for Paris Mayor in 2014 and lost to the Socialist candidate, Anne Hidalgo.
This year, NKM is running for a seat formerly held by Fillon in the Assemblée Nationale. In Round One elections held a week ago, she had enough votes to qualify for Round Two, which is being held today.
Last Thursday, she was handing out campaign leaflets at a farmers’ market in her district when a middle-age man approached her aggressively and assaulted her, verbally and physically.
Witnesses said that they heard him call out to her with the words “Hipster shit” (“Bobo de merde”) as the assault began. They also heard him say, “It’s your fault that Hidalgo is Mayor,” as he grabbed NKM’s leaflets and pushed her down. She fell, hit her head on the pavement, and lost consciousness.
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The attacker ran off and disappeared into a nearby Métro entrance, chased by onlookers. First responders arrived and they were able to revive NKM and rush her to a hospital. The French papers say that her injuries were minor and that she is recuperating.
The police arrested a suspect, Vincent Debraize, mayor of Champignolles, a small village in Normandy.
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